


Familiar Faces

by marvelsquake



Series: One Year Later [3]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Dorks in Love, F/M, Family Fluff, Few years later, Gen, Light Angst, One Year Later, Please read the notes before reading, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:08:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29047416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marvelsquake/pseuds/marvelsquake
Summary: As Daisy and Daniel take a stroll through the park with their kids, they run into an old familiar face, confronting Daisy with her past.Set in my 'One Year Later' fic verse but can be read separatelyFINAL CHAPTER
Relationships: Skye | Daisy Johnson & Daniel Sousa, Skye | Daisy Johnson/Daniel Sousa
Series: One Year Later [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1990870
Comments: 57
Kudos: 85





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE READ: Hey guys, if you're someone who reads my fics often, chapter one might be familiar to you. This is because I already uploaded it as a one-shot in my 'Few Years Later' one-shot collection, but I enjoyed writing it so much that I decided to separate it and make it a three part story. So chapter one is older, but chapter two is the newest addition! Chapter three will be up next week, so make sure to check back in next week :) Enjoy!
> 
> Thanks to @hecckyeah for the amazing moodboard, @Wlammy for being my trusty beta and if you like you can follow me on tumblr.com/marvelsquake

Daisy let out a deep breath as she once again smoothed out the front of her winter coat. The buttons were straining against the bump that slowly but surely had started to show itself now that she had just entered her second trimester.

Daniel reached for her gloved hand and Daisy tangled her fingers with his as they strolled through the nearby park. Her content sigh created a puffy cloud in the cold air. Daniel smiled at her before focusing back on the path and their eldest daughter, who was running with their dog Zephyr closely following her. 

It was a cold yet sunny fall day, the trees had already dropped most of their leaves, but the sunlight shone through the bare branches and threw beautiful shadows on their path. 

Daisy curled a little more into her husband’s side, feeling a shiver going down her spine from the cold. She admired how handsome Daniel looked in his long camel pea coat, nice cable knit sweater and the casually draped scarf around his neck. It took a while but Daniel had gotten used to a more modern way of dressing, and it really suited him, although she sometimes missed the suits and suspenders he insisted on wearing back in the day. 

Daisy took a glance at a tucked in Sarah, who had quickly fallen asleep in the stroller Daniel was pushing, seeing how it was almost nap time. She nearly lost her donkey plushy in the process, but Daniel had been quick enough to catch it. He clammed it behind the straps before it could drop into a puddle, or get lost for real, as they knew they would have a very devastated toddler on their hands. 

“This is so nice,” Daisy said, curling her arm around his. Daniel nodded in agreement, the red tip of his nose matching hers.

“How are you feeling?” he asked carefully, glancing at her midsection for a second. 

It didn’t go unnoticed by Daisy and she squeezed his hand. “We’re fine, Daniel,” she assured him, “Glad to go for a walk that’s longer than from the bed to the bathroom and back,” she added, as she rested her hand on her belly for a second before tucking it back into her coat’s pocket. 

Daniel smiled, but his eyebrow shot up when he saw Charlie getting too close to the pond where a group of ducks had been begging for some bread. “Charlotte, stay away from the water!” 

The girl looked up with wide eyes, knowing all too well that her father only used her full name if it was serious, so she turned around and ran back to her parents, a bit out of breath. “They so cute, daddy,” and added some quaking noises. 

“I know ducky, but I don’t want you to fall in,” he answered, slowly shaking his head with a smile. Daisy placed her hand on top of her daughter’s head, who managed to calmly walk along her parents for a full minute, before she ran off again with the happily yipping dog behind her. 

Daisy chuckled, “She’s so happy, I am glad she can let go of some of that pent up energy.” 

Daniel nodded in agreement and hummed. After the miscarriage scare a month earlier, Charlie had changed from a happy-go-lucky little girl to one that was way too concerned for such a small child. 

It pained them to see her so worried about her mother, who had to stay on bed rest and wasn’t able to go play with her in the backyard anymore, or carry her around on her hip or play-wrestle on the couch. 

They had tried to make it not too different for their children, as they were too young to understand what it all entailed, so they watched movies in bed, read books to them, or napped together, and auntie Kora took them outside to play some times. It was still a big adjustment, however, to all of them, but luckily, it paid off; Daisy got the all clear after their last check at the OB.

The fetus was developing well and since she hadn’t had any spotting or cramps anymore, she was finally released from bed rest, and was advised to continue life like before, but ease in slowly, and the couple couldn’t be more relieved. So the first thing Daisy wanted was to go on a stroll with her family and take Charlie to her favorite park with the big playground. She was so excited to do something normal again that she joined Daniel and Charlie in their made up ducky song, while straining to put Sarah’s chubby little feet in her rubber boots, before leaving the house. 

“Sometimes, I wonder what it would have been like if we’d never been able to return back to earth, how we would raise Charlie in space,” Daisy pondered with a frown, thinking back on the dark and narrow hallways of the aircraft while looking at the wide open fields and path around them. 

Daniel inhaled deeply, “Me too, I don’t know how Fitz-Simmons managed all those years with Alya.” 

“Well, according to Jemma it had been pretty tough. With a newborn you don’t need much, like how we managed to care for Charlie with just a laundry basket and some hand sewn clothes but when they get older…” 

Daniel hummed, “I can’t imagine… We would have never had this,” he said as he tapped on the handle of the stroller. 

Daisy shook her head. “No, I would have never wanted to have another child, and especially not give birth in a ship I might or might not quake to pieces,” she replied as a shiver ran down her spine again, yet this time not so much from the cold.

“And we were so lucky Charlie was a healthy baby and an easy pregnancy… what if we had gone through what happened a month ago, with this one…“ she once again shook her head, spreading her hand against the swell of her belly where their third child was nestled safely within her womb. As an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. she had gone through some pretty horrific scary and traumatic things, but at least with fighting against her enemies she _knew_ how to fight back using her skills and powers. But the lack of control, not being able to protect the little life inside of her, had been terrifying being back on earth, let alone in space. 

Daniel brought her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss against the back of it. 

“I thank the stars everyday that we managed to come home safely,” he whispered. 

Daisy gave him a nod, a smile forming on her face at his loving gesture. His facial expression suddenly changed into one of worry, his eyebrows knitted together, and Daisy followed his gaze. Their daughter had once again ran off too far, and was now playing with a strange dog, some sort of bully-mix, accompanied by a man whose back was turned to them.

Daisy always felt that Daniel was a bit too protective, but seeing her daughter talking to a strange man in a park didn’t sit right with her either, and before she knew it she called out for her oldest daughter, who didn’t seem to hear her, and continued petting the dog. Daniel looked at Daisy and they picked up their pace.

Daisy was reminding her daughter that she wasn’t allowed to pet stranger’s dogs, until she stopped mid-sentence when the man turned around. With a genuine apologetic gesture, he said, “I’m sorry, she really wanted to pet my dog, she’s friendly I promise, I told her to ask her parents first but –“ 

Daniel shook his head at the man, “It’s okay, Charlotte here doesn’t really _listen._ ” 

Charlie looked up with a guilty expression on her face. “But daddy, she’s nice, playing with Zeph,” and patted the stranger’s dog, who looked up at her with its tongue hanging out. The dog then ran back to Zephyr and continued their horsing around. 

Neither Daniel, nor the man had noticed Daisy going white as a sheet, or her wide and unblinking eyes as she observed her husband casually talking to the man and excusing himself for Charlie who he had lifted onto his hip, even though the girl had gotten a bit big for it. 

The middle-aged man smiled friendly at her, his short dark hair blowing in the breeze, a small frown on his face as they stared into each other’s eyes. 

He shook Daniel’s hand as he introduced himself. “Hi, my name is Cal Winslow, I am a vet, and just opened up a new animal clinic here. And this old girl is called Daisy.” He pointed at the dog playing with Zephyr, “She doesn’t often play well with other dogs, so it’s nice to finally have a friend for her.” 

Daniel nodded, and introduced himself and his daughters to the friendly man. “And this is my wife -“, he added before noticing how strange Daisy was acting. 

With a crooked smile, the vet stuck out his hand and Daisy just stared at it before shaking it.

“I… I am Daisy,” she said hoarsely, blinking nervously, worried he might recognize her. She let go of his hand and awkwardly stared at the ground.

Daniel slowly nodded, wondering what had gotten into her, and reached out for her hand. Daisy immediately grabbed it, squeezed, and didn’t let go. 

The man chuckled, “That is a lovely name,” he tried to joke, but Daisy didn’t really respond. Cal tilted his head, and said “I’m sorry, the old noodle isn’t wat it used to be, but you look familiar, have we met before?” 

Daisy slowly shook her head, still looking away. “I, um, maybe, I have been to your practice before” 

“Ah yes, that must be it,” he answered, happy to have an answer. 

Daniel sent her his ‘are you okay?’ look, and she managed to smile convincingly, causing Daniel to let it go for now. He imagined it was a little overwhelming for Daisy, after the weeks in bed, to be out and about again.

Daisy watched her husband continue to talk to Cal, and not having a clue he was really her _father_. Charlie inserted herself into the conversation, fascinated by the man being a vet, which had been her current obsession since she and her dad took Zephyr to get his yearly shots. The vet laughed heartily at remarks the child made, clearly being a really chipper people person, and Daisy felt her heartbeat calm down. It was nice to know he was doing well.

Eventually, their dogs seemed to tire and started panting at their feet, so Cal handed Daniel a business card, kindly urging them to come for a free check-up for their dog if needed, and they bid each other goodbye. 

Daisy shook her head as she watched herfathercrouch down, put the leash back on dog-Daisy and walk off with a buoyant tred. 

Daisy placed herself behind the stroller and started walking when Daniel was done putting the leash on Zephyr. “Are you okay?” he asked, “You looked a bit spooked.” 

Daisy blinked, “Yeah, it was just strange.” 

“Because you knew him?” 

“Yeah.” 

They remained silent for a while until the playground came in view and Charlie ran off again. “Be careful!” Daniel exclaimed, but the girl had already ran up to the monkey bars. He chuckled and sat down on one of the benches. 

Sarah had finally woken up too and was whining to be let out of the stroller. “She must be hungry,” Daniel said. Daisy barely responded as she unbuckled her youngest daughter and pulled her on her lap. Sarah cuddled into her mother’s warmth immediately as Daniel took a banana from the diaper bag and peeled it. Gratefully, she took the fruit from her dad and stuffed her face with it.

“Daisy?” 

“Yeah?” she responded, still a bit dazed. 

“Who was that man?” 

Daisy took a deep breath and cleared her throat, “That’s Cal Johnson.” 

“ _Johnson?_ As in…” he gasped softly. 

“Yeah, my father.” 

Daniel blinked, watching his daughter play with another girl near the monkey bars, “He did look familiar, you kind of look like him, now I think of it.” 

Daisy nodded. “I have no idea how… how this happened. He lives in Milwaukee. After what S.H.I.E.L.D. did to his memory, I made peace that I would never see him again, but now he’s _here._ “ 

“Wow,” Daniel breathed out, taking it all. Unbeknownst to him, he had met his father-in-law, and had looked in the same brown eyes he saw in his wife and children.

“He didn’t seem to recognize you.” 

Daisy shook her head. “No, he didn’t, and I hope I didn’t jog his memory or anything, because that would be traumatic for him.” 

“And for _you_ ,” Daniel added. 

Daisy smiled, pulling the toddler on her lap closer and pressing her cheek against her daughter’s cheek. “I’m okay, it was rough for a while, and I can’t say he was _perfect_ by any means, but I want him to have the closure he deserves.” 

Daniel nodded and took the business card from his pocket as he studied it, “He said he just opened a new clinic here, seems like he has been doing fine for himself.” Turning the card around and staring at the logo before pocketing it, he continued “you know, we could… visit him, again.” 

Daisy shook her head and let go of Sarah who was squirming to be let go of her mother’s grasp. The toddler stumbled towards the sand pit and let herself drop, immediately sticking her small hands in the sand and letting out a squeal of happiness as it clumped in her fists. 

Daisy looked at Daniel. “No… it’s okay. It was just a freak coincidence, I am glad to see he is doing great, he looked good. I just… want to leave the past in the past.” 

Daniel reached out for her and put his arm around her shoulder, kissing her on top of her beanie, “Alright, let me know if you change your mind.” 

Daisy nodded, reaching for his hand and squeezing it before they both looked up wide-eyed when an all too familiar cry came from Charlie who seemed to have fallen off the monkey bars. 

Daniel shook his head and got off the bench with a grunt. He hurried to his daughter who sat on the soft foam tiles with big tears running down her face. Daisy could see that it was more from the shock than of pain, and she smiled wistfully. She tried not to think too much of what could have been, especially thinking back of her childhood and how she could’ve grown up happily with both her parents somewhere in Milwaukee, but seeing the father-daughter duo in front of her made her feel a little homesick for a life she never lived.

Seeing her own father, after more than a decade, brought back all those emotions she had as a lonely kid, and as Daniel walked back with a teary Charlie in his arms, her little face resting on his shoulder, she wondered how it would be to have her birth-father back into her life, even if it was just a visit to the vet. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, chapter two is the newest one! Enjoy!

Daisy let out a grunt and moved the laptop that was balancing on her sphere-like belly. She put it next to her on the couch and closed the lid before letting out a big yawn and rubbing her eyes. 

Mack had ordered her to do more work from home now that she had entered her third trimester and refused to go on maternity leave so soon. Ever since the scare, he had been doubling down and insisted she’d take more time to rest, and even though it could be annoying, she knew her unofficial ‘big brother’ was just trying to look out for her. And so she conceded, and spent three days a week doing some hacking from home for S.H.I.E.L.D. while Kora overlooked Afterlife 2.0, and Daniel ran the rest of the Lighthouse, and she’d assist them on the remaining days. 

Daisy smiled and slowly shook her head at the dog curled up next to her, and reached out to stroke his smooth head, stopping at his fluffy ear to scratch behind it, knowing it was his favorite spot. As predicted, Zephyr opened his eyes and grunted softly in appreciation. Daisy chuckled at the animal, feeling a bit bad that she was going to have to take him to the vet in a few hours, knowing that he wouldn’t like it one bit. 

Zephyr had always been Daniel’s dog, following him on foot wherever he went, but since Daisy got pregnant, he wouldn’t leave her side. It was endearing, and she blamed it on his herding instinct, just wanting his family to be together and safe. 

The dog suddenly sat up and tilted his head towards the front door, mere seconds before Daisy too could hear the enthused babbling of both her daughters and Daniel’s smooth voice diligently answering all the questions they threw at him. As soon as the jingling of the keys could be heard, Zephyr started barking and ran up to them, wagging his tail and running circles. Daniel pushed the door open and laughed at the dog’s antics, trying to pet him with his one free hand as the other held onto Sarah on his hip, all while balancing Charlie’s small bright yellow backpack and Sarah’s baby blue one slung over his shoulder. 

Daisy couldn’t help but sigh at how _hot_ he looked at that moment, and when they made eye contact, Daniel knew exactly what she was thinking, and raised his eyebrow at her with a pleased smirk. Sarah interrupted their shared though by pulling on the collar of his jacket, demanding to be put back onto her feet. He chided her for the pulling and detangled her fingers from the hold on his collar before he kneeled down, and put her back down carefully. He then helped unzip her coat and took off the impatient girl’s little boots. As soon as the boots were off, Sarah ran towards her mother, who was still seated on the couch, and she happily exclaimed “Mama!” 

Daisy smiled brightly at her upbeat daughter and pulled her onto the couch. “Did you have a good day, baby?”, she asked. 

“Yeah!” Sarah answered cheerfully, throwing her plushie to where she was heading before climbing over her mother’s mostly disappeared lap to her favorite spot, which was on Daisy’s left side. She pulled up her knees and curled up against her mom, sticking her thumb in her mouth and letting out a content little sigh. Daisy lovingly shook her head at her toddler, and placed her hand on Sarah’s small leg, lovingly rubbing it up and down. Sarah wasn’t talkative, never had been, but showed her affection by curling into one of her parents’ side whenever she could, and when she was ready processing the day, she would tell them what was on her mind, which mostly were the animals she had spotted from the car window or a new letter she had discovered. 

It didn’t take long before Charlie followed her baby sister to the couch; carrying a brand new stack of colorful drawings she had pulled from her backpack, and with a proud grin showed them off. Daisy hummed in awe and appreciation as Charlie pushed one glittery drawing after the other into her hands. She climbed on the couch and described in extensive detail what every scribble was meant to represent. 

In the mean time, Daniel hung up the coats and emptied their daughters’ backpacks. He put them near the kitchen to be filled with lunch the next day, and walked towards his family, closely followed by Zephyr circling his legs. “Hey you,” Daniel said and bent over to place a kiss on Daisy’s lips. “Hey,” she answered softly, taking her time to brush her fingers along his greying temples. 

Charlie made an indignant sound when her artwork was ignored for a brief moment, and held a drawing up in the air, describing it more loudly to assure their attention. It was a horse she had drawn, with a tail made from short pieces of colorful yarn glued to the paper, declaring it the best drawing she had ever made. 

“Yes, it’s beautiful, Charlie,” Daisy said, chuckling at her feisty daughter’s complete lack of patience, recognizing herself in the stubbornness. She kissed her eldest on her shiny dark hair and nodded at further horse-drawing-related information. “Oh, I can tell, well done”, she reassured the girl, who looked up at her. 

Charlie beamed with pride, “Can I put it on the fridge?” 

“Of course, you can,” Daisy answered, eyeing the poor fridge that was covered with all kinds of drawings, sticky notes, pictures, grocery lists, and the overflowing family planner. 

As Charlie ran off to put her stack of drawings on the fridge, Daniel plopped himself down next to his wife on the now vacant spot and smiled at her. “How’s your day been?” he asked, putting a pillow behind his back.

She could see he was tired; his normally sparkly dark eyes had gotten duller and there were visible bags underneath his eyes, and she immediately felt bad. With her being on semi-maternity leave, it meant Daniel had to pick up more of the family duties next to working practically full-time. He placed his large hand on her rounded belly and smiled, resting it there as he brushed his thumb along the curve, “And how’s my boy? Behaving?” Daisy placed her hand on his and gave it a gentle squeeze. 

“We’re good, had to walk around the house to get him to calm down and stop kicking my ribs,” she said with a chuckle, thinking back of that morning, when she walked around talking with her sister on the phone about some new ideas she had for recruitment for Afterlife 2.0, while trying to calm the baby within, letting out the occasional hiss followed by a concerned Kora asking if she was okay, before she continued her story. 

“How are _you_?” she asked a bit concerned, tangling her fingers with his, sending a quick smile to Sarah who had curled even more into her side.

Daniel sighed and smiled faintly. “I am good, just tired, the lighthouse is going well although I still have trouble with the new interns.” 

Daisy shook her head, why he thought he could do this kind of workload _and_ add interns to the mix was beyond her. “You need to _rest_ , Danny,” she said. 

Daniel smiled at her use of Danny that she mostly reserved for teasing, but before he could properly answer, Charlie had already ran back and hopped onto her father’s lap. Daniel was easily able to catch her and hold onto her with his free arm so she wouldn’t topple over, seeing as he was more than used to being used as her personal jungle gym/comfortable chair by his children. It then didn’t take before Zeph the dog followed suit, who somehow managed to squeeze between all of them on the now very crowded couch. He wagged his tail and rested his head on Daniel’s leg. “Poor thing, doesn’t even know he is going to the V-E-T, ” Daniel spelled out, knowing that uttering the word would send Zephyr into hiding. 

Daisy chuckled and shook her head, a nervous shiver went down her spine and she swallowed. 

It didn’t go unnoticed and Daniel tilted his head at her. “You know, if you’re not up to it I can always go instead, it doesn’t _have_ to be today.” 

Daisy smiled lovingly at him and once again traced the grey forming at his temple, accidentally transferring the glitter that had accumulated on her hands from Charlie’s drawings to his hair. 

“I have to do this, I just need to know how he’s doing. And you, you have to relax. Go take a nap with Sarah,” she said as she had already felt the weight of her youngest falling asleep against her. “We’ll be fine.” 

“Who’s going be fine, mommy?” Charlie asked curiously, no longer zoned out at the muted TV Daisy still had on. 

“Oh, Zeph and I,” Daisy said in an upbeat tone, trying to change the subject as they had decided to keep her newly rediscovered father a secret from their children for now. The only grandfather they knew was Coulson and they weren’t planning on confusing them.

Carefully she untangled her arm from her daughter’s hold and moved the snoozing toddler against the couch cushions on the other side and brushed the wild escaped curls from Sarah’s face; the neat braids she had put in that morning were now almost fully gone, covering her face as she slept. Daisy scooted herself to the edge of the couch, where with a helping push from Daniel she was finally able to get up. 

Charlie’s eyes went wide as she suddenly remembered what day it was and gasped “Can I come to the vet too?!”, she exclaimed, practically bouncing on her father’s lap. 

Zephyr immediately whined at the mention of the vet and jumped off the couch, scurrying away with his tail between his legs as fast as he could. Daisy and Daniel groaned in unison, knowing that it was going to take some effort before they got Zephyr in the car now. Charlie still looked at them with hopeful eyes, but Daniel managed to distract her with the promise of her favorite mermaid movie, secretly hoping he’d catch some Z’s on the couch in the meantime.

* * *

Daisy knew her own nerves didn’t help at all with her poor pent up dog who was panting nervously underneath the chair in the waiting room of Winslow Veterinary.

She tapped with the heel of her shoe against the chair leg, until the woman next to her with a guinea pig in a carrier on her lap gave her the side-eye. 

She sighed, tightening her hold on the leash in her hand, and wondered if she was crazy for actually doing this. Since she had seen her birthfather in the park those months ago, he hadn’t really left her mind. It just didn’t make sense that he had strolled into her life again, casually walking his dog in the park of the town they lived.

He hadn’t recognized her, pleasantly introducing himself as if he wasn’t the same person who had torn up Hydra and everyone that got in his way trying to find her. And even thought It was a little disturbing, ever since she had become a parent herself, she now emphasized with him more, because she didn’t know what she would be capable of if someone killed the love of her life and took her babies from her. 

Daisy huffed and shook off the unsettling thoughts, and checked her phone once again at what time it was. The screen lit up with a text from Daniel, wishing her good luck, and it brought a smile to her face. Ever since Daniel had mentioned how much her children’s eyes looked like their grandfather’s, Daisy started to feel the itch of wanting to know more about him besides the tragedies of a life he had no memories of. Was he happy? Did he have a wife? Family? Why had he left Milwaukee? 

But whenever she mustered up the courage to go visit and use Zephyr as an excuse, she chickened out at the last second, staring through the window where she sometimes would catch a glimpse of his smiling face, gesturing one of his animal patients to follow him into the examination room. So, when it was actually time for Zephyr to get his yearly shots, she decided it was time. 

She purposely booked an appointment at the end of the day, so there wouldn’t be a waiting room full of worried owners with their pets making her feel pressured to rush or keep it short.

A worried look followed the friendly looking assistant’s warm smile when she called out for Zephyr, and she asked if Daisy needed help getting out of her chair. Daisy sighed and forced a smile while declining the offer; everyone had been asking her if she needed help ever since she’s gotten in her third trimester. She always looked further along than she actually was because of her smaller stature, didn’t mean she was immobile. Daisy pushed herself off the chair, which was, if she was being honest, indeed pretty hard to get out of, and followed the assistant into the examination room, ready for Zephyr, who was dragging his feet, to get his shots and yearly check-up. 

Daisy did her best not do a sharp inhale as she walked in. Cal had his back turned to her, holding a clipboard in his hand while scribbling something down, probably about the big red cat that had left just before they were called in. His floppy hair bounced as he turned around with a beaming smile; he looked just as good as he did in the park, his dark hair that matched hers was greying and there were now glasses balanced on the tip of nose, but he looked good, happy, and nothing like the drugged-up, sweating monster that was etched into her mind. 

Daisy blinked as she thought she caught a glimpse of recognition in his eyes but it was quickly replaced by his eyes casting downwards to the scared dog staring back at him. “Zephyr!” he exclaimed. He kneeled down to the dog and stroked its head, trying to calm down the visibly stressed canine. Zephyr seemed to relax into his touch, confirmed by a small wag of his tail, and the vet looked up at Daisy from his kneeling position. “I remember this fella,” he said, receiving a tentative lick from the dog in the palm of his hand. 

Daisy blinked, “You do?” 

“Can’t forget a name like Zephyr, especially since this pal is the only dog _my_ dog ever liked, a while ago in the park, right?” he answered with a grin and stood up, brushing off his knees. Daisy just nodded in response.

“He’s going to need his shots?” 

Daisy cleared her throat, “Yeah and um, yearly check-up, he’s getting a bit older now.” 

“Well I must say, he looks great, you guys must take excellent care of him,” Cal answered and called in an assistant to help him transfer the now much happier dog on the examination table. “But let’s see.” 

Zephyr protested a bit from being picked up but relaxed once on the table, looking around and taking in his new environment, now that he was higher up. 

Cal took in Daisy’s pregnant physique, and offered her a chair, but not wanting to get out of another of those same deep chairs, she declined, and instead, leaned against the table, trying to come up with words that she had rehearsed in the car but now seemed to have escaped her. Cal, feeling the odd tension, hummed as he took a look into one of Zephyr’s ears and nodded before checking the other one, “So, how’s your husband, kids?” 

Daisy sucked in a nervous breath. “You have a good memory,” she answered, “they’re all well. How…”, she searched for inconspicuous things to ask. “How’s your dog… Daisy, right?” 

Cal looked up at her and smiled, “I tend to remember people by their pet. Habit of the trade, I suppose, it’s how I remember all my patients, really. And you don’t have a bad memory yourself! Yes, Daisy is doing great, getting older, of course, but she’s still as feisty.” 

Daisy smiled, feeling a bit more relaxed, and let go of the tight grip she still had on the leash. She brushed her hand along her belly where her son had started to react to his mother’s nerves by kicking up a storm once again. Doctor Winslow looked up and smiled. “Third one, huh? How’s the husband feeling about having three girls?” 

Daisy frowned slightly. “Oh, it’s not a girl, this one’s a boy,” she said with a soft smile. 

Cal looked up at her with a frown on his face. “Wait, a boy? How- ” he held his breath and smiled. “Well, that’s nice too, of course. A little boy. Congratulations!” 

Daisy tilted her head, watching him continue examine her dog, and took a step closer to Winslow, who was practically hiding himself behind the dog.

“Why did you think I was having a girl?” 

“Oh, um... didn’t your husband say that? When we were in the park? Must have been...” he muttered with a bit of a forced smile as he picked up the confused dog’s foot to inspect between the toes, ready to do just about anything to avoid looking her in the eyes. 

“No, no he didn’t.” Daisy felt her heartbeat suddenly increase when she realized what was happening. The way he just assumed, was _sure_ even, she was having a girl, and how he was visibly confused when she told him it was going to be a boy- it was more than telling. Besides herself, Kora, and a few intimate family members, no one knew that in her lineage there hadn’t been a boy born, ever. Her own daughters didn’t even know.

“Oh excuse me, I must be confused with -”, Cal scrambled, painfully aware he couldn’t dodge her questions for much longer.

“You… you _know_.” Daisy interrupted him. 

Cal looked up, brushing his hand through his hair in a desperate motion. He took off his glasses, wiped the sweat from his forehead, nervously put his glasses back on, and shrugged. “I don’t –“ 

“Dad?” 

The panic on his face was visible, until he let out a big sigh and his face softened. 

“You got me,” he breathed out with a defeated chuckle and raked his hands through his hair before finally staring into her shocked eyes. 

“How? How long, I…” she stuttered, “Why? I…” 

“Daisy, look, look, I… I have not been spying on you like some old creep, I promise you. About a year after S.H.I.E.L.D. wiped my memories, of which, I must say, I am _not_ a fan, I got these flashes. Just a lot of weird memories I couldn’t place, as if my mind subconsciously was still searching… well, for _you.”_

He smiled softly at her stunned face, and continued. “And when I volunteered at the old people’s home with my therapy dog... one of the residents played the song on her record player, the song I used to sing to you as a baby, and it all flooded back. The horror of how they took you from me, Hydra, your mother…” Daisy could see the familiar anger displayed on his face, but saw it, to her relief, quickly being replaced with a fondness. 

“When I finally found you again…” 

Daisy nodded slowly, taking it all in, “Why did you pretend your memories were still wiped?” 

“I… I was walking my dog when I suddenly saw you strolling around in the park with your husband, and your _daughters_. I couldn’t believe I was a _grandfather_ , but… even though I just wanted to run up to you, and pull you into my arms, you just looked so happy and at peace. I have never seen you like that… and it felt wrong to disrupt that. Then, suddenly, Charlotte ran up to me, being an absolutely tremendous child, I must say... It was purely a coincidence, I tried to keep my distance, and be a mere bystander… but before I knew it, she was petting my dog, asking me all kinds of questions and I, I couldn’t believe how much she looked like you.” 

Daisy let out a shuttering breath. If her always-excitable daughter hadn’t run up to him, she wouldn’t be looking in his eyes right now, and for once she was grateful for Charlie not listening.

“She… she actually looks more like Daniel, really. Except for the hair maybe,” 

Cal shook his head, “Those eyes… they’re all yours.” 

Daisy smiled back softly, and took a deep breath. “You must have many questions.” 

“I do, so must you.” 

“I do.” 

Zephyr started whining, pressing his wet nose against Cal’s hand and the vet brushed his hand through the curly coat of the dog. “Haven’t forgotten about you, funny face,” he said, grabbing a treat for the dog to snack on. 

“How do we go from here?” Daisy asked. 

Cal cleared his throat, “How about we finish up here and… go for a coffee?” 

Daisy gave him a crooked smile, running her hands along the curve of her belly. “Tea?” 

“Tea it is.” 

* * *

Daisy absentmindedly stirred her tea and let go of a deep breath. They had chosen a nice café in the park and took place outside, as it was a nice sunny spring day. Zephyr was tired after his vet appointment and running around in the park, and was now asleep beneath her chair at her feet.

They had talked about some of the basic stuff, before Cal had excused himself to the restroom, which gave Daisy a bit of a breather to process the whole situation. 

She blinked as she felt her phone buzz once, and stared at the text that had appeared on her screen and smiled. She had texted Daniel that it went well so far, and that they had gone out for tea at the coffee house nearby. She could tell from the way Daniel wrote his message, that he tried to not sound too overprotective or overbearing, but that he was concerned, yet trusting of her judgment. Daisy simply texted him that she was fine and that she’d pick up some dinner on her way back. 

“So, where were we?” Cal tried to recall, practically beaming at the sight of his daughter, as he pushed the hair from his forehead. 

Daisy put her phone back in her jacket pocket and smiled back at him as he sat down. “You were going to tell me how you ended up here, instead of staying in Milwaukee.” 

Cal swallowed, playing with the edge of his crumpled up napkin, and admitted, “Well, I-um, may have contacted some of my old… buddies, who know a thing or two.” 

“So, you just went up and left?” 

“Not at first. But I just... needed a glimpse, needed to know that you were okay. My ways weren’t entirely... legal... but I assure you my intentions were pure. And I apologize, but ever since I got my memories back and you showed up in the news, portrayed as if you were some kind of villain I…” he clenched his fist for a second, before inhaling deeply, “I just needed to know how you were doing.” 

He then sighed, “You disappeared for a good while, and only when you bought that house and got married, were you traceable and even then, I… I wasn’t just going to show up. I wasn’t even aware that,” his eyes sparkled, deep devotion and love shining in them, “You had become a mother, twice over even. Three almost.” And glanced at her rounded belly that her hand was resting on.

Daisy shifted her weight, sitting for a long time could be straining on her aching back, and she leaned backwards. “These _buddies_ of yours, they won’t cause a problem, right?” she asked cautiously. 

Cal blinked, “Oh, no, no. Don’t worry, they’re not even around anymore.” 

Daisy’s eyes went wide. “Wait, you _killed_ them?” she hissed. 

Cal’s eyes went just as wide and he shook his head, waving his hands in a refuting gesture. “Oh, no, no, no!” he chuckled, “not my doing, I promise, I promise. Just a deal gone awry.” 

Daisy let out a relieved breath, rubbing her forehead and giggled from relief. 

“I’m sorry, I –“ 

“No, I get it, I’m aware of my... reputation.” 

Having a laugh, even if it was slightly morbid, did relieve some of the tension between them and she shook her head, sitting back up again. 

She sighed and tilted her head. “I don’t know how to go about this, you know. It’s all a bit much.” 

“I just need to know if you’re well.” 

Daisy smiled, shaking her head, thinking of her husband and her two, very different but perfect in their own way, daughters at home and with her active baby boy soon to be born, and said “It’s been difficult, it really has been for a good while, but I am happy, very happy.” 

“It’s all I wanted for you. I just wish I could’ve given you the childhood you deserved,” Cal replied, pursing his lips regretfully. 

“I know, but we can’t change the past,” she answered. “Although it is how I found my husband…” she thought out loud. 

“What?” 

Daisy chuckled, “Another story for another time.” and smiled, there were still so many things she hadn’t told him about, she hadn’t even mention Kora, yet. There was simply not enough time for a recap of her life, and she wasn’t ready for it either.

”There is going to be another time?” he asked with hopeful eyes.

Daisy blinked, “I, I’d like there to be, but I need to do this slowly, there’s so much on my mind, especially with this little guy’s due date approaching, and I need you to give me some space to process this all.” 

Cal looked a bit disappointed yet understanding, “Could I maybe, would you let me meet your family?” 

Daisy swallowed. “Yes, eventually I’d like you to meet them, but maybe for now as the friendly vet, not as their grandfather. Not yet, okay?” 

Cal nodded slowly. “Of course, I would be a happy man in any capacity.” 

Daisy nodded. There was a clear disappointment in his eyes that he tried to mask, and she did feel bad for the man sitting opposite of her, but she also knew what he was capable of, and she wasn’t going to take any risk regarding her small children, especially not without consulting Daniel first. “I can show you some pictures?” 

Cal beamed at that and nodded, “Oh yes, please.” 

Daisy pulled out her phone from the pocket of her trusty leather jacket, and Cal pulled his chair closer to his daughter as she swiped through the pictures on her phone. Many were of Charlie dressing up or playing with Daniel, Sarah balancing on the knees of a brightly smiling Daniel, all of them napping together on the couch (taken by Kora), Daisy showing off her belly, (clearly a picture Daniel had taken), the latest sonogram picture, many, _many_ baby pictures and her favorite picture of all: a picture Coulson took at Christmas, in which she was sitting on the sofa with Daniel’s arm around her, Sarah resting her little head against her belly with sleepy eyes and her stuffed donkey squished under her arm tightly, and in the foreground, Charlie ripping open one of the gifts she had gotten while wearing a too large Santa hat.

Cal looked at each picture with teary eyes and he ended up staring at one particular picture displayed on Daisy’s phone. It was of Sarah when she was a year younger than now, sitting on her father’s lap. “She looks identical to you as a baby, before… you know,” 

“Really?” Daisy answered as she took her phone Cal handed back to her and stared at the cute picture of Sarah. “I don’t really have pictures of myself as a child.” 

Cal felt another wave of frustration bubble up, because there weren’t even pictures of her growing up, before suppressing his feelings for the sake of keeping a pleasant conversation. “Well, I do,” he said and reached out into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out his wallet. He took out a stack of tiny somewhat faded pictures showing a smiling baby. 

“You have the same eyes, ears, shape of your eyebrows even, your hair just wasn’t as curly as Sarah’s.” 

Daisy took the pictures from Daniel and slowly flipped through them, stopping at one where she indeed looked identical to her daughter, yet it was a photograph of herself, seated on smiling Jiaying’s lap, with her tiny baby fingers wrapped around father’s index finger. “We look happy,” she commented softly. 

“We were, Daisy, we really were,” Cal answered and took back the pictures, carefully putting them back into his wallet, trying to subtly brush away a tear that had been about to escape from the corner of his eye. 

Daisy reached out for her father’s hand that was shaking a bit and she smiled at him, “I promise you’ll meet your grandchildren, Cal, I just, I need some time.” 

Cal looked at his daughter’s hand resting on his and placed his other hand onto hers, giving it a soft squeeze, “I know, it’s just… that, I don’t have much more time left.” 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys and welcome back! Sorry that it took so long for me to update it but I really wanted to do it justice and now I really like how it turned out! I also changed it from three to four chapters as I quickly noticed three chapters would never be enough lol. Enjoy!
> 
> Thanks to my beta Wlammy for helping me out <3

Awoken by strong tremors coursing through his body and their bed, Daniel chided himself for falling asleep. He knew his wife, whose superpowers were causing the quakes, was feeling extremely vulnerable after the meeting with her father and he’d promised himself to watch over he so she could sleep, but he had dozed off while reading his book, and now she was yelling out his name, thrashing in the bed as a night terror had taken over her dreams. 

He threw the book that was still on his lap on the floor, and turned to Daisy, whose face was contorted in terror, her eyes screwed shut and her forehead covered in sweat. 

“It’s okay, honey, it’s not real, I’m here, I’m here…” Daniel repeated and laid his hand on her shoulder, lovingly trailing his fingers up her face, trying to wake her up gently as he didn’t want to get accidentally quaked through the room. Daisy gasped as if she hadn’t been able to breathe, and was trying to reach the surface. Her bloodshot eyes opened wide, and searched for his face in the dark. She croaked another “Daniel,” before feeling his arms around her and his hand on the side of her face. 

“I’m here, I’m here, it’s okay,” he said again and again, and Daisy let out a shuttering breath, curled into him as much as her bump allowed and cried into his shirt. Daniel held her in his arms, softly stroking her back and whispering soft words into her hair. Slowly the quakes subsided as her tears stained his grey shirt and he pressed a kiss on top her head. 

He allowed her time to calm down, and to have a moment to ground herself again, before softly asking, “Want to talk about it?”

Daisy released another shuttering breath, her face still buried in his chest, holding onto his shirt that smelled like  home clutched in her hands. “Hydra, they… they murdered you, gutted you in front of me… like my mom, Cal, I… they took my babies, our babies, I was alone. So much blood, my dad…” she shook her head, “They took our baby.”

Daniel’s heart ached for her, and he softly hummed. “He’s here, we’re all here,” he answered, carefully loosening her hand from the grip on his shirt and moving it to the prominent bump that was pressed against his hip, where he could feel his unborn son kick, probably triggered by his mother’s elevated heartbeat. 

Daisy spread her fingers against the taut skin of her belly beneath the loose shirt she’d ‘stolen’ from him, and let go of a tearful sigh, while she softly followed the curve with the palm of her hand. Daniel laid his hand on hers, letting her know that he was there, and that they were safe, without having to say a word. 

Daisy eventually managed to let her muscles relax and she looked up at him, resting her chin on his chest, and felt finally able to release the deep breath she had been holding in. “It was so real,” she muttered and shook her head, the images still vivid in her mind. “Sorry for waking you, you’re already so tired, I-”

Daniel put her arms around her again, shaking his head. “Never apologize, it’s not your fault, okay?”

Daisy slowly nodded, loving the strong hold of his arms around her and the well-worn soft cotton of his shirt against her face, and swallowed. “I don’t know what I would do, Daniel,” she whispered, “...if all this was taken from me,” and stared behind Daniel’s shoulder, at the little basinet they had already placed in their bedroom, ready for their son. “I don’t think there’s  anything that could stop me… from, from becoming exactly like my father if anything were to happen to you, or to our kids and it scares me, it scares me so much.”

“You are  not your father,” Daniel answered.

“Aren’t I? Aren’t we all? In the right circumstances? Could you… wouldn’t you, with Malick, in that barn...” Daisy shuddered from the vivid flashbacks, feeling the sharp knives slice into her skin again without being able to fight back.

“I could’ve killed him, yes,” Daniel answered pensively, brushing a lock of dark hair from her sweaty forehead, “And sometimes I wish I had, when I had the opportunity to, but… it’s not the answer. If I had, you wouldn’t have Kora in your life now, our kids wouldn’t have had their auntie to take them to the park and stuff them with way too much sugar before returning them to us,” he said with a gentle chuckle.

Daniel was relieved his little joke cleared some of the tension in Daisy’s shoulder as a faint smile appeared on her face.

“I won’t let anything happen to you, or our children, Daisy,” he eventually added, “not if I have anything to do with it.”

Daisy let out a deep sigh, looking into his eyes that were barely visible except for the faint night-light in the hallway reflected into the white of his eyes. “Sometimes I wonder… if I am just kidding myself, if I am just biding my time until the next disaster will strike and all of this will be taken away from me.”

Daniel shook his head, “ This , your life, our life, you  fought to have this, and you  earned it. You deserve to be happy, Daisy, and I know people like you and me are always waiting for the other shoe to drop because of what we’ve experienced and have gone through, but we deserve this, okay?” Daniel looked into her eyes with a determined look on his face, almost as if he was convincing himself just as much as he was convincing her, and she gave him a nod. 

“Okay,” she answered.

“Okay,” he repeated, never breaking eye contact before softly kissing her as a sort of promise. Daisy traced the stubble on his chin and brushed her thumb along his cheekbone, before letting go of the kiss and sending him a faint smile, swallowing down the lump in her throat. 

“I’m going to check if I didn’t wake the girls with my quakes,” she muttered and let go of the strong hold on his shirt. She hadn’t even noticed she still had been clutching in her fists until now, almost leaving indents of her nails in the palms of her hands.

Daniel was about to comment that the kids would have been by the foot of their bed, staring at them with their big brown eyes, if she had awoken them. But didn’t when he realized she probably just needed the comfort of knowing that her daughters were safe and sound in their own beds. 

He helped her sit up, which had become increasingly harder for her as her ever growing belly got in the way, and she sent him a grateful smile. Silently, she stood up, put her feet in her slippers, picked the bathrobe from the vanity chair, draped it around her frame and lazily tied the knot above her belly. She shot him a glance and forced a small smile, before shuffling towards the door, blinding Daniel with the light from the hallway for a second, and silently closed the door behind her.

* * *

Daniel hadn’t been able to go back to sleep, and laid waiting for his wife’s return. He had heard her go from one room to the other, but she hadn’t returned to the safe haven that was their bed, and after a good 30 minutes, he decided to see if she was doing okay and hopefully to convince her to come back to bed and hopefully catch at least a bit more sleep. 

He brushed his hair from his forehead and with a yawn, he put on a pair of sweatpants and a shirt before exiting the bedroom. 

First, he checked on Charlie, who was sound asleep, curled up and tangled in her sheets like she usually was, and he smiled softly before closing the door, making sure to leave it ajar so there was still a sliver of light. He then shuffled to their youngest daughter’s room, and gently pushed the door open, and indeed found his wife, seated in the rocking chair that was still in the corner of Sarah’s room. It was her favorite spot for the early morning feeds, before their youngest was weaned, and with Sarah being an especially affectionate child, they decided to keep it in her room a little longer for cosy bedtime book readings. 

Daisy was leaning back, softly rocking with Sarah in her arms. The toddler was barely able to lie on her mother’s chest with the prominent baby bump in the way, but it was clearly comfortable for the child, evidenced by her sleeping face resting on Daisy’s shoulder. Daniel send a soft smile to Daisy who had been softly humming and she smiled back.

“She heard me come in, wanted cuddles,” Daisy explained in a hushed tone while stroking the snoozing toddler’s back. She pressed a kiss on top of the wild curls and rested her cheek against the little girl’s head.

Daniel slipped into the barely lit room and nodded, “Don’t think she was the only one.” 

Daisy hummed, but instead of replying, she wrapped her arms tighter around her daughter’s small warm body and swallowed down the lump in her throat that hadn’t gone away ever since her talk with her father. She pulled down the hem of Sarah’s pink pajama shirt to protect her from the hallway draft, and tucked the little girl’s feet in the warmth of her bathrobe.

“It’s not fair,” she eventually muttered.

Daniel watched them, sat on the small toddler bed with Sarah’s donkey plushie in his lap, while supporting his head with his hands. “It’s not,” he agreed.

“Part of me wishes I hadn’t gone to see him, I’d still be blissfully unaware right now,” she groaned.

“You don’t really regret it, do you…”

“No I don’t,” she sighed, “but it still sucks.”

Daniel hummed in agreement, thinking back on what his distressed wife had told him when she had gotten home after the meeting with her long lost father. They had only been able to talk briefly and in a hushed tone before putting on happy faces when Charlie asked what they were going to have for dinner and agreed to pause the conversation until they had gotten the girls to bed, but by then Daisy had gotten so exhausted from processing the day  and being heavily pregnant on top of that, that she had fallen asleep in his arms, leaving Daniel to fill in the blanks. “So how long does he have? I don’t think you’ve mentioned it.”

“It’s because I don’t know. He didn’t tell me much.”

They sat in silence, giving in to their thoughts, with the only sound coming from Sarah’s steady breathing as she slept. 

“It was nice, though”, Daisy quietly remarked. “He looked good, he sounded  sane,  he was able to tell me more about my mother, the fraction of childhood I had with them, pictures. I even fantasized how it would be for the kids to have another grandpa, but now… I don’t even know if I  want to introduce them to him if it will only follow heartbreak… Is that even fair? To him, to them?”

Daniel let out a deep breath. “I don’t know,” he said, and looked into her forlorn eyes. He really didn’t know. He instinctively felt the urge to protect his young daughters, and soon to be born son, from any pain that it could cause, but he also rationally knew that their kids deserved to get to know a part of where they came from. 

With no living family on his side and strictly looking at Daisy’s blood relatives, there was only Kora, who had done her part by lovingly teaching some Chinese to the girls (together with May), as it was important for Daisy for her daughters to know of their heritage as it had been taken from her. 

But it wasn’t so easy when it came to Cal, with his violent and destructive past. And even though he trusted Daisy when it came to her instincts in people, he also knew there was a part of her that desperately wanted to forgive him, because that’s who she was, still searching for family. 

“None of this is fair,” he sighed, wanting to give her more but not knowing how.

“Sarah is already older than I was before they took me from them, you know,” 

“I know.”

Daniel swallowed upon seeing his young daughter curled up on her mother so sweetly; he couldn’t imagine her being ripped from them, and his heart ached for Daisy’s parents who had to endure such agony. “I think the only thing you  can do is meet up again, like you two planned for tomorrow, and try to get a bit more information out of him.”

Daisy sighed, thinking back how her birth father had vaguely mentioned that the many drugs he himself had concocted and used to make himself stronger were now the cause of his deteriorating health, and replied “I know, he just really didn’t seem to want to talk about it…” 

“I know you’ll be able to make him talk,” he said with a determined nod, fully trusting his wife’s interrogation skills, “even without having to quake him.”

That made her chuckle a bit, which was his intention and he softly smiled back at her.

Daisy laid her head back onto Sarah’s, gave her one last cuddle and suppressed a deep yawn as she muttered, “Can you help me up?”

Daniel smiled, stood up and carefully took his daughter, who was still sound asleep, from her mother’s hold and moved her back to her own little bed. He tucked her in, making sure her favorite plush donkey was within arm’s reach and kissed her tenderly on the forehead, before turning around and helping Daisy out of the chair and onto her wobbly feet. “You okay?”

She managed a faint smile. “Yeah, just take me to bed, please.”

“Alright, honey, let’s go.”

* * *

“Sarah’s napping,” Daniel was glad to announce as he walked down the stairs in his usual confident tread with Zephyr the dog right behind him, like always. 

Daisy smiled up at him as she put on her raincoat. Even though it had been nice outside,  this morning , it had become cloudy and drizzly, and it sure matched their mood. Daniel observed her for a second as she double checked if she got her keys and phone inside her pockets.

“You know, I can still be your chaperonne,” he said with a lopsided smile, trying to hide his worries, when she exhaled deeply. 

“I can even stay in the car… or…”

Daisy slowly shook her head and took a step forward and looked up at him, “I know you’re worried. I am nervous too, but I think you forgot we walked around foreign planets, meeting up with scary aliens when I was just as pregnant with Charlie.” 

“I know,” he said softly, knowing that Charlie was not too far away coloring at the kitchen table, “but that wasn’t a high risk pregnancy.” 

Daisy felt the urge to reply with a curt ‘I won’t put our baby in danger’, and by looking at Daniel’s face, it was clear it was what he expected from her as a reply, but instead, she brushed with her hand through the greying hairs at his temples and kissed him on the lips. “I’ll be careful, okay?”

Daniel had always accepted her headstrong attitude, in fact, it was one of the things he fell in love with in the first place. Yet it took Daisy a bit longer to accept his unconditional support and love, which still felt foreign to her sometimes, even though Coulson was the first one to be that person for her. His loving devotion, however, also came with him being overprotective at times, with her and their children. And she now knew that it wasn’t for lack of trust in her judgement, he just wanted them to be safe. Which she couldn’t fault him for.

He smiled back at her, brushing his hand along her belly. “It’s all I am asking.”

Daisy nodded, “I’ll text you when I get there, okay?”

“Alright,” he said, releasing a deep breath.

Daisy walked up to Charlie who had been too entranced with coloring to even notice her mother had been standing behind her. Daisy chuckled softly and placed a kiss on top of the girl’s head. “Looks good, baby, I’m gonna go now, you be good to daddy, okay?”

Charlie nodded and murmured a goodbye before turning her attention back to the rhythmic scratching of the crayons on her artwork.

Daisy walked back to Daniel, who had his arms folded in front of his chest. She could see that some tension was still there and kissed him again. “I’ll pick us up some dinner, after, okay?”

“Let’s just order pizza,” Daniel suggested, looking forward to not having to cook after an afternoon of entertaining both his worried thoughts and their children.

Daisy didn’t want to go in discussion and gave him a faint smile. “Pizza it is.”

“ Pizza? ” a small voice came from the kitchen, and both parents laughed, “Oh sure,  that gets her attention,” Daisy said and opened the front door, “I’ll see you in a bit, okay?”

“Okay, love you.”

Daisy looked into his eyes, “I love you too”, before closing the door behind her. 

* * *

“Come in, come in!” Cal said with a broad smile on his face as he opened the door of his apartment with a welcoming arm gesture.

Daisy smiled politely, gave him a nod and walked into his apartment. It was nice, not too big but not small either. There was a dark green couch where her namesake was still snoozing, a comfortable chair near the window with a tall lamp next to it, a TV in the corner, some nice older looking paintings on the wall and many, many book cases filled with well-read books. On the coffee table, there was an undetermined ceramic animal that had ‘thank you, doctor Cal’ written on it in big crooked letters, and on one of the bookshelves, there was quite a collection of ‘thank you’- cards with a variety of pets on the front. 

“I like your place,” Daisy remarked genuinely.

“Well, thank you,” Cal said with a small bow, a smile still plastered on his face. Daisy nodded in return and awkwardly stood in the middle of the living room. “Oh, how boorish of me, let me take your coat, I’ll put it by the heater.” 

Before Daisy could respond, he already dashed back and forth with her raincoat. 

“Come, sit, sit, your feet must be tired. It’s not nothing, carrying a child! Would you like something to drink? I made some tea, not coffee of course, but English tea, but if that’s not to your liking, I also have chamomile, some fruity-ones, I know you had mint yesterday, and -”

Daisy decided to put them both out of their misery, and interrupted his nervous ramblings. “Chamomile would be nice, thank you.” 

She estimated quickly which seat she would be able to get back out off the easiest, and sat down on the couch next to the dog who groaned contently as she stroked its smooth head. She sent Daniel the promised text that she had arrived and everything was fine, and silently admired Daniel’s restraint when he only texted her a ‘good luck, let me know when you’re done’ in return.

Cal had already disappeared into the kitchen, presumably getting their beverages and she sighed, wondering if she should’ve gone at all. He seemed… stressed or overly excited, or a combination of them. But before she could finish her thoughts, Cal had already appeared with two mismatched cups on a little tray, which he placed on the coffee table.

“Would you look at that, my two Daisies!”, he remarked fondly, and sat down on the comfortable chair next to her. Daisy reached for her tea cup, wrapping her fingers around it and letting the heat of it pleasantly warm her hands. There was a bit of an awkward silence, both of them knowing why she had come over but none of them wanting to say it out loud.

Cal was the one who eventually spoke up, and confessed “Must say, haven’t really slept last night.”

Daisy let out a soft chuckle. “Me neither, so many thoughts.” She didn’t want to mention her night terrors that their meeting had triggered, and left it at that, hoping he would find the next thing to say. Which he didn’t.

She inhaled deeply and cleared her throat after a careful sip of tea she knew was too hot, and wondered “So, about what you said yesterday, about your… limited time…”

Cal slowly shook his head, “You know, I’ll answer all your questions but if it’s okay with you, I really want to show you something first. Can I?”

Daisy conceited and slowly nodded. “Alright.” She breathed out through her nose, on one hand impatient to know more about his illness and feeling curious on the other hand.

Cal nodded with a crooked smile and sprung up from his chair. “I’ve got it somewhere, give me one sec.” 

He walked over to one of the many book cases and kneeled down where a few of the books were stacked, instead of in a neat row like the rest, and pulled out a leather bound book. He seemed to hesitate for a split-second and then strutted back to her. 

“When you were born, well actually even before you were born, I decided to keep a diary, just to put my thoughts in and some keepsakes. I think you’ll enjoy.”

Daisy’s eyes widened as she took the book from her father. She put her tea on the coffee table and balanced the notebook atop her ever-growing bump, and with a fast beating heart, she opened it. The distinctive smell of old books and leather attacked her senses but were comforting as it reminded her of her husband’s extensive book collection she’d sometimes peruse in his office.

A polaroid picture let go of its final bit of dried glue and fluttered down by her feet. Cal rescued it, and handed it to Daisy, who was speechless and unblinking at the sight of her mother, smiling and standing to the side with a clear baby bump beneath her loose dress. Underneath it was scribbled ’36 weeks, only a few more to go!’

Cal smiled, “Look, that’s itty-bitty you!” 

Daisy slowly nodded and followed the lines in the somewhat faded picture with her trembling finger. Her mother in the picture not much further along than she was right now, and she carefully stuck the picture back before flipping the page. 

There, in the same jovial curly handwriting, it said ‘Dear baby, we are waiting for you to be born, and even though it feels like forever until we can see your little face, it also has flown by. Good things are like that, which you’ll soon find out when you’re here. Your mom tells me to be patient and shakes her head at me, but we know she loves us, don’t we?’

More scribbles filled the page, but Daisy felt it was a bit intimate to read it all, right now in front of him. She turned the page, and gasped. It was a picture of herself, a newborn, looking so much like Sarah at that age. Underneath it was written, ‘Daisy L. Johnson, one day old.’

“Wait… Daisy  L. Johnson? I have a second name?”

Now it was Cal’s turn for his eyes to grow big. 

“I never told you? I swear I did?”

Daisy shook her head furiously, “No, you haven’t. What is it?”

“It’s Louise, after your grandmother, my mother. Daisy Louise Johnson.”

She gasped softly, “Louise?”

Cal hummed, “I hope you like it? We can think of another name starting with the letter L,” he tried to joke, ready to start naming all the Lindas, Lauras and Loraines he could think of.

Daisy chuckled, “I, um, no, I like it… I guess I can add it to my apparently ever growing list of names. Daisy  Louise Johnson,” she repeated, trying to get used to her new name.

Daisy turned another page, it was a picture that Cal had already shown her the day before at the cafe and her heart sank again upon seeing her mother so happy, with  her , holding her like she did her daughters. The leather-bound book was filled to the brim with pictures of  her mother pressing a kiss on the downy head of her as a baby, Jiaying in a home made cotton dress and little baby Daisy in a matching cotton playsuit on her belly in the playpen, pictures of her crib with very 1980s wallpaper and a colorful mobile dangling above her own tiny grabby hands, stuffed animals, dresses with peter pan collars, naps in the stroller, every single picture graced by a radiantly smiling Jiaying. The tiniest strand of straight black hair was taped to one page, and in another handwriting, it read “Daisy’s first haircut”. Her mom must have kept it and carefully attached it in Cal’s diary to remember.

It all got a bit too much and Daisy just stared at the pages in front of her.

“I… I am sorry. Is this too much, I know what Jiaying did... I just… I want to show you that she wasn’t always like that. Before Hydra… she was a good person and she loved you  so much.”

Daisy nodded, feeling heavy, and swallowed. “As much as she loved, Kora?” 

It was almost a biting remark. She didn’t blame Kora for having their mom as she grew up, she was actually glad she had, because Daisy didn’t want anyone to have to go through what she had as a kid. But there was also this jealousy when Kora spoke of their mother fondly, because while Jiaying had called Kora her biggest gift, it had been the opposite for her, acting like her own daughter was disposable because she got in the way of her deranged ideas, and if her father hadn’t stepped in on time, it would’ve been fatal.

Cal frowned, “You… you know about Kora?”

Daisy nodded again. “She’s my sister.”

Cal took a deep breath, “Your mother didn’t like talking about Kora much, the way she passed away it was… traumatic. I wish you could’ve met her.”

Daisy cleared her throat. “I, um, actually have.”

It was now Cal who was stunned. “You… have? How?”

“My last mission with my team, we went back in time, it’s actually how I met Daniel, my husband. But… I was also able to meet Kora.”

“I am so sorry you had to meet her like that, and then lose her…”

“She’s actually still alive,” Daisy blurted out. She had wanted to keep that tidbit of information from him, but the diary in her hands made her want to spill everything.

“She’s… alive? How?”

“A different timeline, it’s all very confusing, but we were able to help her and I took her back with me, just like I did with Daniel. She’s doing really well, she has a girlfriend who she loves very much and she’s the best aunt to my daughters.”

Cal blinked and leaned back into his chair, “Forgive me for being…”

“No, no, it’s a lot.”

“She, um, actually took my…  our last name,” she said with a smile.

“She did?” Cal said, a hint of pride in his voice.

Daisy nodded as they both sat in silence, each processing the overwhelming new information before Cal smiled at her again, “I am glad you have family.”

Daisy nodded, “I do too.” She silently flipped through the diary, pausing at a picture of herself, at least six months old, frowning at a spoon coming her way, looking so much like Charlie. 

“You hated beans,” Cal commented.

Daisy let out a soft chuckle. “Still do.” She closed the book in her hands and put it next to her. “Can I borrow this? It’s a bit… much, right now.”

“It’s yours.” Cal answered. 

Daisy shook her head, “No, you can’t act like this. You  need to tell me what is going on with your health,  why do you have not much time left? You said it was the drugs you took, you made yourself, but… what does that have to do with it?”

Cal inhaled sharply and shook his head. “When I… concocted those drugs. All I thought was that I  needed to be strong. I was surrounded by Inhumans and I felt so weak and unworthy around them, and I couldn’t help  you , find  you . I didn’t care for my health. Well these drugs are now biting me in the…” he hummed, pausing himself before he said a ‘bad’ word. “I have been feeling… weaker, to say the least. After yesterday I couldn’t move a muscle because I was so tired. It’s affecting all of my organs, slowly but surely. The doctors don’t know what is going on, what caused it. But I do.”

Daisy blinked, “So… you’re just letting it  happen?”

Cal leaned forward and let out a sigh, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together, “I did this to myself. You can’t do these things without consequences. This is my consequence and I’ve accepted it. I have already been given a second chance. It’s okay.”

Daisy got a flashback to when Coulson had pretty much said the same thing, before she lost him, and she suddenly felt herself getting upset.

“You  can’t just give up!”

“This is not me giving up. This is me taking responsibility for what I’ve done.”

“No. You are punishing yourself.”

Cal gave her a wry smile in return and shook his head, “I am glad I haven’t messed up as much that you still care about your old-man, but one of the reasons I wanted to have glimpse of you is to know that you’re okay. And you are. You have a family, you’re safe, you are loved. It is all I wanted for you. It’s okay.”

Daisy shook her head, “I know you think you don’t deserve another chance, but you…” as she shot a glance at the diary next to her, “you are family.”

Cal blinked. “Daisy, I really do appreciate that you care, but you are having another baby soon. You’ll be plenty busy with that, especially on top of those two magnificent girls of yours. This is no priority.“

“But you want to meet them, don’t you?”

Cal frowned, almost insulted at the question, “Of course I do! There’s nothing more than-”

“Then let me send your hospital files to my friend Simmons,” Daisy interrupted, “she’s the most brilliant doctor, she might know what to do.”

Cal again put up a protest but Daisy wasn’t having any of it. “You know I can hack into the hospital computer system in five minutes and get it myself. Or you can give them to me.”

He finally conceded. “I’ll request them.”

Daisy nodded curtly, “Good.” She placed her hands on her belly, stroking along the curve to calm her and the baby within and released a deep breath. She needed to stay calm for the baby’s sake, a promise she made to Daniel and herself, and so in an attempt to calm herself and get rid of the tension in the air, she announced “I actually brought you something too.”

Cal raised his eyebrow and watched his daughter in silence as she took an envelope from her pocket and handed it over to him. “I still need… some time. Daniel too, before we want to introduce you to them, but I want you to have some pictures in the mean time.”

Cal opened the envelope, and took out three printed pictures. One was of Charlie with a gap-toothed smile trying to make a handstand with Daniel holding onto her feet, the other was of Sarah building a sandcastle with her trusted plush donkey by her side, the third one was the one Coulson took at Christmas of her and Daniel, herself a bit less pregnant and with Charlie on Daniel’s shoulders while Sarah was seated on her mother’s lap. Cal blinked his tears away and nodded, “Thank you.”

Daisy slowly nodded, “They need you around, okay? I do too.”

“Okay… for you, for them, I will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! I hope you guys liked! Next chapter will be the final one! Kudos and comments are very much appreciated and I make sure to always respond to all of them <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Welcome back! Finally the fourth and final chapter is up! I really enjoyed writing this but I am also glad I finished it :) Enjoy!
> 
> Thanks to my amazing beta Wlammy who I can't thank enough, without her I wouldn't have been able to finish this in time <3

Daisy yawned, and smiled faintly at her husband who was fast asleep, lying on his back with his arm curled around their eldest daughter. His side profile was illuminated perfectly by the full moon outside and she lovingly admired his features, his nose, his brows, the curve of his lips, his jawline... It always reminded her of an old Greek coin, lacking only the laurel wreath adorning his head. 

Charlie was asleep in the same fashion, her long hair fanned out on the pillow she shared with her dad. Their daughter didn’t really favor one of her parents when it came to sleeping in their bed, but since Daisy was curled up with a pregnancy pillow to prop up her belly and be comfortable, there hadn’t been much space for the girl. 

Daisy rested her hand on the prominent bump and sighed. It had been a stressful day. After she met up with her father, demanding his explanation as to why he hadn’t really sought out medical treatment, she had gone home, but as soon as she had recapped the meeting to her husband, she had suddenly gotten painful contractions that felt a lot stronger than the Braxton Hicks she had gotten used to. 

Immediately, they called up Kora who had rushed over so they could go to the hospital. The doctors were concerned, as it already was a high-risk pregnancy in the first trimester, and for a while, it looked like Daisy had gone into labor. Luckily, after some monitoring, the contractions had subsided and it had been explained as false labor. Incredibly relieved, they had returned home. 

While Sarah was completely oblivious to what had happened, expertly distracted by a finger painting session with Kora, Charlie hadn’t been as easily fooled. She kept repeating questions about why her parents had to go so quick and where they went, which Kora didn’t really know how to respond to, causing Charlie to cling to her mom ever since they returned home, joining her in their king-sized bed.

And so again, Daisy had been put back on bed rest for at least a few days, and no more stressful activities, which made dealing with her father’s situation even more difficult. 

A strong little leg kicked against the palm of her hand from within her womb, and Daisy smiled softly, feeling once again so grateful her son had decided to stick it out a bit longer before joining them. His two older siblings were each born a bit early, but only by a week or two, not as severe as it would’ve been if she had actually gone into labor today.

A yawn escaped her once again. While her body and foggy mind were begging for sleep, the thoughts circling around in her head hadn’t. Dealing with her father, her work, being in her third trimester and having two little girls dependent on her, had gotten a bit too much, _clearly_ evidenced by the contractions that had gotten triggered by it all, and the guilt that followed didn’t help the situation either. 

She looked back again at Daniel, glad that the deep frown lines that were etched into his skin had finally smoothed out, now that he was asleep, but they hadn’t yet talked about her father and how to approach it yet. Cal had kept his promise and sent her an email with his hospital files, oblivious to what had happened after their meeting, and Daisy studied them once Daniel fell asleep. But the medical terms hadn’t made sense to her, and with an attached message towards Jemma asking for her help, she sent them over to her friend across the pond. 

She glanced once again at her husband who had started to snore lightly, like a purr Daisy could feel the vibrations coming off of him. She knew that he was going to be pretty upset that even after a day like this, where she was ordered to stay stress free, she had chosen to still continue pursuing a treatment for her father, but she needed answers, otherwise, she couldn’t destress like the doctors urged her to. And she knew Daniel, no matter how he shook his head at her; that deep down he knew this wasn’t something she could just let go… With a sigh, she closed her eyes, finally succumbing to a fitful sleep.

* * *

“So, I’ve gone over his hospital files…” 

Daisy blinked, halting her movements. She was folding the pint-sized laundry of her daughters, but there was a silence on the other end of the phone that alarmed her. Her normally upbeat British friend sounded solemn, and even though Daisy had mentally prepared for the worst, actually hearing it was something else. 

“I’m going to be honest with you, Daisy, it’s not looking too good.”

Daisy exhaled and nodded, clenching the phone in her hand. 

“I expected as much,” she muttered, “you don’t have to sugarcoat it for me, just tell me.”

“Well, the drug he used… the modified steroids... I won’t bore you with the medical jargon, but all of his organs are deteriorating, it almost looks as if it is eating him from the inside out… I haven’t seen anything like it.”

Daisy placed the folded pajama pants on the wrong pile and sat down on the edge of the bed.

“So, what are you saying?”

“I don’t know, Daisy, just looking at the files, I can’t form a judgment and certainly not a diagnosis.”

“What do you need?”

“For starters, blood samples. I know we still have some traces of the drugs he concocted for himself in the lab, from when he was still in custody with us, but those need to be cleared as I am not officially with S.H.I.E.L.D. anymore.”

Daisy nodded slowly, pinching the bridge of her nose as she felt her headache worsen. 

“I can make a few calls, get those sent over. Anything else?”

“Well, preferably the patient himself, but blood samples will do for now… How are you doing?”

Daisy let out a sigh, somewhat regretting telling her best friend about the false labor scare. 

“We’re doing good, Jem, I promise. I just… I need to know if there’s anything we can do to help him.”

“I understand. It’s good to hear you’re doing well, though. Give Charlotte and Sarah a big kiss from me and don’t hesitate to call if there’s anything more I can do, okay?”

Daisy smiled, “Thank you Jemma, you’re already doing too much. Say hello to Fitz and the kids, okay?”

“I will, you let that husband of yours take care of you.”

Daisy repressed a sigh, “Trust me, he does,” she assured her friend, and then smiled. 

“Talk to you later. Thank you again, Jemma.”

“Of course, anything!” 

Daisy ended the call and stared at the picture of Jemma’s face that was still displayed before it faded back into her home screen. She slowly shook her head before dropping the phone next to her. With an accidental bounce, it leapt off the bed and onto the floor with a loud clang. Daisy knew that within a minute, Daniel would be there to see if everything was okay, and like predicted, only a few moments later, his concerned face stuck through the door opening asking if she was fine. 

His concern and checking up were equally endearing as frustrating and with a defeated sigh she pointed at her phone on the floor. 

“Dropped my phone,” she simply stated, both knowing it was practically impossible for her to bend over and pick it up herself. Daniel nodded and flashed a smile of relief, picked it off the floor and handed it back to Daisy, who after a quick inspection if it wasn’t broken, put it in her pocket.

“Jemma?” Daniel asked as he pushed the piles of colorful laundry to the side and joined his wife on the bed.

“Yes.”

“I figure it wasn’t good news?”

Daisy shook her head, staring ahead of her to the blue sky as seen through the window. 

“We kinda predicted it, it’s like Cal said, it’s basically eating him from the inside out. Jemma needs blood samples and the steroids he used we still have in the lab, stuff like that.”

Daniel could tell she was zoned-out, absentmindedly playing with one of the colorful socks between her fingers. 

“How can I help?” 

That made her smile, and she turned her face towards him. “You’re already doing what you can. Sorry that I’ve been so… crabby.”

“It’s okay, you’re dealing with a lot.”

Daisy let out a big sigh and shook her head. “It just sucks because I have to contact Mack for the lab stuff, because we don’t have jurisdiction over it... and I kind of wanted to not yet tell everybody about my father, but I guess I have no choice.”

“He’ll understand,” Daniel said.

“You haven’t seen my father like Mack and Jemma have… it’s… he was _scary_.”

Daniel’s shoulder tensed, and his jaw tightened. 

Daisy knew something had been bothering him that he hadn’t expressed it yet, but it was clear from his body language that it had been bugging him. “Just spit it out, Daniel.”

Daniel closed his eyes for a second and exhaled before looking into her eyes. 

“I am… concerned that,” he paused himself before continuing. “I do not know the man, and the way you and others have described how he was in the past, he sounded pretty… manipulative at times and I am just… scared that, he has walked into your life wanting more than just a family reunion.”

Daisy blinked as she stared into his eyes. “You think he is trying to use me for my involvement with S.H.I.E.L.D.? To find a cure?”

“I think it is a possibility, yes.”

Daisy’s instinct was to immediately dismiss his concerns, but a seed of doubt had been planted. She stared at her hand, still holding the little sock that had lost its twin somewhere between the washer and the dryer. 

“I know you have your doubts because you haven’t really met him except for the brief moment in the park but…I do think he is genuine. He doesn’t even want my help, only after I pretty much forced him to.”

“Which could be a tactic too…”, Daniel softly muttered and reached for her hand. 

“Look, I am not saying it is, I just… it feels just too much like a coincidence right now. And I want to be sure, before you pour all your love and energy into him just to be… cast aside later. Especially if he does meet the kids.”

Daisy looked at their joined hands and gave a small squeeze, burying her face in his chest. “I just don’t know anymore,” she whined, mentally worn out.

Daniel pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear and smiled softly. “I have an idea... there is a way we can find out his intentions.”

Daisy looked up with a frown. “How?”

“It’ll have to involve May.”

“ _May_?”

* * *

“So, what do you need me for?” May asked as she sat down at one of the barstools in the kitchen.

Sarah stayed home from daycare, since both parents were home anyway, much to the chagrin of Charlie, who had to go to preschool. Sarah reached out her arms to grandma May, who pulled her onto her lap and let her play with the silver bracelet around her wrist, not concerned with the day-dreaming toddler hearing the adults talk as she zoned-out anyway, when it didn’t directly concern her.

Daisy sat down next to May and nervously folded her hands underneath her bump as Daniel poured tea for them. “I have told you about my father, Cal, how he has his memories back and has been pretty sick…”

“Yes,” May answered, raising her eyebrow at the couple, still not sure where they were going with this.

“We need fresh blood samples from him to send to Jemma, and we wanted to ask you to do it.”

May frowned, absentmindedly playing with her grandchild in her lap by jingling the bracelet that Coulson had gifted her for Christmas. “Why me? Aren’t there more qualified people to do that sort of thing?”

Daniel put the mugs with tea on the kitchen island and sat down as well. “Sure, when it comes to the drawing of the blood but it’s not the skills we are asking for.”

May looked from Daisy to Daniel and back to Daisy before it hit her and smiled wryly. “You want me to sense if he’s not faking it?”

Daisy nodded, “Look, I know he’s not faking his illness, he really is sick. Jemma confirmed it, _but…”_

 _“_ It’s too much of a coincidence that he just showed up after doctors told him they don’t know how to treat it? And you have ties to the most cutting edge treatments within S.H.I.E.L.D.?”

“Exactly,” Daniel confirmed, “I just need to know that he won’t be a danger to Daisy or the girls.”

May reached out for her mug, careful to keep it out of the way of the happy toddler in her lap, and pulled out the teabag. She put it on the little plate Sousa held out and nodded.

“Alright, let’s do it.”

“You sure?” Daisy asked, a bit taken aback that May was so willing to.

“Of course, you need answers. I can provide those. You want the kids safe, so do I. I’ll do it.”

Daniel let out a relieved breath. “Thank you.”

* * *

May blinked when the front door to the apartment of Daisy’s father swung open. She was met with the same face that had pretty much single-handedly destroyed one of their labs all those years ago, but with a friendly expression on his face, this time. 

“You have come to take my blood?”, he asked and then cracked a smile. “Pardon me, that made me sound a bit too Dracula, doesn’t it?” 

He welcomed her in. May nodded and stepped inside. She immediately noticed the cozy interior, filled with books and art on the walls and a softly snoring dog on the couch, and it reminded her a bit of Coulson’s place, where they had spent plenty nights finishing a bottle of Haig. 

She let her empath abilities flow freely, but she couldn’t sense much more than the awkward tension hanging in the air as Cal offered her a place to sit. May complied, declining his offer for tea, and put the bag with medical supplies on the floor next to her. Cal sat down too and cleared his throat. 

“I feel like I should apologize to you,”

May raised an eyebrow in response, but remained silent.

“For the pain and destruction I have caused, I wasn’t really myself back then you see,” Cal explained, nervously cleaning his glasses on a slip of his shirt.

May could feel a genuine remorse coming from him and she nodded. “The past is the past,” she answered and send him a quick smile that seemed to appease him. 

An awkward silence followed and May and gave him a nod. “Blood?”

Cal nodded. “Oh yes, of course.” 

May opened the bag of medical supplies and started the prep as Cal rolled up his sleeve. She didn’t have much medical training, barely any, but she had learned in her years in S.H.I.E.L.D. to do the basic stuff, which included taking blood and temporary stitches when they were out in the field.

Cal wasn’t a stranger to it either and balled his fist. May found a nice vein and filled a vial of blood, followed by another as she stared at the framed pictures next to him. They were quite recent ones of Charlie, Sarah, Daisy and Daniel and she figured Daisy must’ve gifted them to him. Cal followed her line of sight and smiled. “Aren’t they perfect?” 

May took a sharp inhale as an intense wave of love filled her. Even if she wasn’t an empath, the love for his daughter and granddaughters was evident. May pulled the needle back, and let him press a cotton ball on his arm to stop the bleeding. She put a Band-Aid over it, happy with the amount of blood she has taken and put everything back into the bag. Cal watched her and shook his head. 

“I didn’t want her to do this, you know, but she is not giving me a choice,” he said to her with a wry smile, “I don’t deserve it.”

May blinked again, the mix of regret, sorrow and love almost dizzied her, and she cleared her throat. Slowly, she stood up.

“If Daisy says you deserve it, you do,” she answered. 

Cal looked up, pleasantly surprised. “Thank you looking out for her, the past years, and now...”

May looked down at the man, who resembled a scatterbrained professor more than a villain, and sent him a rare smile.

“You’re welcome.” 

Without more words, she left the apartment, brushing a stray tear that had escaped the corner of her eye, and returned to the Johnson-Sousa house.

* * *

“Mack said no!” 

Daisy groaned in frustration and let herself fall back into the cushions of the bed. 

“Really?” Daniel asked in genuine surprise, as he changed out his shirt he had been wearing at work to something a bit more casual. 

Daisy’s annoyance at Mack was shortly stalled as she appreciated her husband’s ripped physique before he regretfully put on a different shirt and joined her on the bed. 

Casting aside the image of the tempting lines on his stomach, for now, she clarified “He doesn’t want to use S.H.I.E.L.D. resources to help a man that is technically still a criminal in the eyes of the law…”

Daniel slowly nodded. “Makes sense.”

“I know, and it annoys me,” she said with a huff and then a self-aware smirk. She _knew_ it made sense, but it didn’t fit her plans. She covered her face in her hands. “I don’t know what to do now.”

Daniel’s concern spiked and he comforted her, “We still have Jemma, she’s studying his blood right? We might not have S.H.I.E.L.D. but we do have their most brilliant doctor.”

Daisy slowly nodded, “That’s true,” and titled her head at him, “I hope she’s able to come up with something, Fitz is helping now too. I face-timed with Cal today and he… he didn’t look good.”

Daniel nodded, trying to come up with some consoling words before the phone in Daisy’s hand started buzzing again. It was Jemma’s number displayed on the screen. They shared a look and Daisy picked up the phone. 

“Hey Jem, Daniel is here too. I’ll put you on speaker.”

An “alright!” could faintly be heard before Daisy pushed the speaker button and balanced the phone onto her sphere-like belly. Daisy could hear the sounds of the Fitz-Simmons children playing in the background with the deep murmuring of Fitz and it made her smile.

“How’d it go with Mack?” Jemma asked.

Daisy let out a sigh, “No help from S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Jemma hummed pensively. “Figured as much, would’ve been nice to have at least a sample of the drugs he took, but alas.” 

“Did the blood samples help?” 

“It sadly only confirmed what it said in the hospital files, there isn’t much more I can do to help unless I can treat him myself, which means I have to come over there…”

“I can’t ask that of you!” Daisy interrupted quickly “You have Fitz, your babies, I-“

“Or he can come _here_ ,” Jemma finished her sentence.

Daniel and Daisy looked at each other. “To Scotland?”

“Yes, we have a lab here, we can do it off the books, without S.H.I.E.L.D. or anything.”

“But he has everything here, his veterinary, his dog, what if something does happen to him over there and I can’t be there and…”

Daniel put his hand on her knee and rubbed it. “Let her speak, Daisy,”

Jemma acknowledged Daisy’s objections. “I know it won’t be easy, but he can take his dog, studies have actually shown that it is better for patients to have their pets close-by as it…”

“Jemma, please,”

“Sorry, what I am trying to say is the only option I can think of is for him to come here, he can stay in the healing pod. It probably won’t do much to help his particular illness, but will slow it down and give us more time to actively study it and hopefully find a cure.”

Daisy took a deep breath and once again looked at Daniel who gave her a nod, they both knew it was the only option. “It won’t be an easy sell,” Daniel said to Jemma.

“No, I understand but we don’t have much time left,”

“How much?” Daniel responded as Daisy took in the news.

“I’d like to have him here in no longer than a week, preferably in the coming three days.”

“ _Three days…_ ” Daisy responded overwhelmed, repeating Jemma’s words. 

“I’m sorry, it’s just that if we want to stand a chance this is the only way.”

“No, I understand, thank you so much Jemma, I’ll try my best to convince him.”

“Alright, you two take care okay, and let me know when you have an answer and an approximation.”

“We will, thank you.”

“I hope Alya liked her letter!” Daniel quickly added before the phone call ended.

“Oh, she adores your letters, Daniel! Thank you, you’re her favorite uncle.”

Daniel smiled proudly. “Good, give your family my love, okay?”

“Alright, bye.”

“Bye!” they answered in unison and Daisy hung up her phone and let it slide off her round belly next to her on the mattress. She tilted her head at Daniel. “You’re so cute, you know,”

“Cute?”

“Those typewriter letters!”

“I am her favorite uncle,” Daniel said with a proud smile, more so to himself than to Daisy.

Daisy didn’t want to dim his enthusiasm by telling him that he is pretty much her only uncle and slid her hand along his jawline. “You sure are… So I guess it is time to call my father,”

Daniel slowly nodded, “Do you think he’ll do it?”

“I have no idea.”

* * *

Daniel placed the last of the suitcases near the front door, exhaled and stretched his back. “That was the last of them,” he said and gave his wife and father-in-law a nod. Cal thanked him and looked around his apartment. “I’m gonna miss this place,” he said wryly. 

“You’ll return,” Daisy answered with a confident smile as she petted her namesake who had been resting her head on her knee. 

Cal just smiled back, taking in the sigh of his daughter. 

“It has been a pleasure to get to know you more,” he said, his voice not as steady as he’d intended.

“Me too,” she answered as she looked into his eyes, “but this isn’t goodbye, that I promise you.” She out her arm for Daniel, who helped his very pregnant wife off the couch and back onto her feet, and then offered to do the same for his father-in-law who declined and pushed himself up with a tired grunt he tried to hide. 

“It’ll only be a short drive to the base, but we’ll have to blindfold you for the duration, I hope you understand,” Daniel said with an apologetic smile.

Cal nodded, “Of course, secret spy organization, I get it.

“Then a quinjet will be ready and you’ll be brought to the UK,” he added. Even though Mack had declined any help regarding Cal’s medical treatments, he did grant a quinjet to be flown from the US to the UK, after Daisy had explained the urgency. 

Cal slowly nodded, “I’ve always wanted to see the green hills over there,” he said, trying to mask how anxious he actually was, “heard it’s beautiful.”

“They’ll take excellent care of you, I promise,” Daisy answered; she didn’t need May’s empath powers to sense his nerves. 

S.H.I.E.L.D. agents silently came to collect Cal’s belongings to them to the car, “So, I guess this is goodbye.” 

“I prefer a see you soon,” Daisy said and glanced at Daniel before she smiled. 

“Before you go, we have a little surprise for you.”

Cal frowned with a shy smile. “A surprise? For this old man?”

Daniel walked out of the front door and within a few seconds, he returned, followed by Kora holding Charlie’s hand and a very apprehensive Sarah propped up on her hip. 

“It’s the friendly vet for now, grandfather when you return, okay?”, Daisy told him in a hushed tone.

Daisy could see Cal swallowing the lump in his throat before he whispered a ‘thank you’. He blinked away the welled up emotion and smiled at the girls.

Charlie looked around, confused until she spotted Daisy the dog and let out a delighted gasp. She tugged her hand free from Kora’s grasp and went to the dog. “Look, mommy, it’s Zeph’s friend!” she exclaimed, giggling as the dog licked her face. She looked up and announced proudly “She likes me!” and then her eyes grew big when she recognized the lanky man in the sweater vest.

“You’re the vet!”

“I sure am!”, he responded in equal delight and answered all Charlie’s questions about the dog, smiling when Charlie cracked up about their mommy having the same name as a dog. Daisy the dog was just happy with the attention she was getting, and looked back and forth from her master and his granddaughter. 

Daniel took Sarah from Kora and thanked her. Sarah held her arms tightly around Daniel’s neck and took in the strange environment. Kora was about to leave before Cal stopped her. He tilted his head slightly, and squinted at her. There wasn’t much resemblance between Kora and Jiaying, (Daisy favored her mother’s looks more than Kora did), but he could definitely see the kindness in her that Jiaying used to have, and he stuck out his hand, which was trembling either from weakness or emotions, he couldn’t tell. 

“I’m sorry for staring... I don’t want to be rude but I just… it’s nice to finally put a face to the name.”

Kora looked a bit apprehensive, but shook the man’s hand. “Um, me too.”

“Thank you for being a sister to my Daisy,” he said, and looked around the place, which was suddenly filled people that cared about him, and added “there’s nothing more important than family.”

Kora gave him a nod, “It’s my pleasure,” she answered shyly, and with a nod and a glance to Daniel and Daisy, she returned to the car.

Charlie was too enthralled with the dog to even pay attention anymore, so Daniel walked up to Cal with a shy Sarah on his hip. The toddler was hiding her face against her father’s neck, and peeked at the man from behind her wild curls. 

Cal couldn’t help but gasp in delight when seeing Sarah up-close for the first time, holding in his tears at how much Sarah resembled her mother at an age he was never been able to see. 

“Hi Sarah, my name is Cal, how old are you?” 

Sarah’s big brown eyes looked up curiously as it was her favorite question to answer. “Two,” she answered and held up two of her tiny fingers. “Almost three,” she echoed what she heard her parents say all the time, and added two more fingers.

Cal chuckled at the miscount and admired her answer. “Already such a big girl!”

Sarah nodded proudly, holding tighter onto her donkey plushie.

“You know,” Cal confided in her with sparkly eyes, “I have seen so many real donkeys, just like yours.”

Sarah’s eyes widened. “Donkeys?”

Cal nodded, his hair flopping on his forehead. 

“Do you know what sound donkeys make?”

With her cheeks bright red, Sarah answered with the smallest donkey impression, seeing as it was her second favorite question. Cal nodded and joined in, much louder. Sarah giggled and nudged Daniel. “Daddy too!”. Daniel shook his head with a chuckle and did the donkey neigh he always did when reading the barn yard book at night. Charlie looked up from the dog to her dad and the vet and giggled. “Grown ups are weird”, she whispered at her new animal friend.

“I’ll show you a real donkey one day, okay?”, Cal promised Sarah, “Maybe you can even go for a ride.”

Sarah nodded before feeling suddenly shy again and buried her burning face in her father’s neck who shrugged apologetically at his father-in-law. Cal was just happy with the silly interaction and let out a delighted sigh. His nerves almost dissipated as he now had a clear visual as what he was going to come home to, if the treatment worked out. A determined look graced his face for a moment, which Daniel interpreted as Cal deciding he’d come back home to all of them, whatever it took.

Daisy had looked on with a smile; she had taken pictures and had already sent them to her father’s phone. “It’s time to go,” she almost whispered. Cal nodded and with a heavy heart, he said goodbye to his grandchildren. Daniel took them downstairs, back to Kora, who had been waiting by the cars.

“Thank you,” Cal muttered, “I don’t deserve this, but thank you.”

Daisy shook her head. “It’s not a matter of deserving... You’re my father and we have the opportunity. There is so much you and I need to work out, still, and I don’t even know how we are going to do it... but I am willing to try.”

“Me too,” he answered, and glanced at Daisy’s bump. “Make sure to send me a picture when this little guy is born, okay?”

“Of course,” she said with a nod, feeling confident he’d fight to survive, if only to meet his third grandchild. “I promise.”

Daisy walked Cal out of his apartment, closely followed by his dog on a leash. Cal closed the door behind him with a silent sigh, before making his way downstairs, where he was helped in one of the unmarked cars. He put his glasses in his chest pocket and made an attempt at a funny face when the blindfold was wrapped around his eyes. 

Daisy felt a bit less vulnerable, now that his eyesight was obscured, and reached her hand into the car to squeeze his arm. 

“Bye dad. I’ll see you soon.” 

Blindfolded, Cal looked up with a grin. “Bye my Daisy.” 

The car door was closed by the agent who was assigned to drive him back to the base, and Daniel patted the roof of the car to signal it was okay to leave.

Daisy took a step back and watched the car leave. Daniel put his hand on the small of her back and Daisy let her head rest against his shoulder. Suddenly feeling her fatigue set in, she sighed. 

“I miss my dad.”

“Already? He just left.”

Daisy chuckled, “I actually meant Coulson.”

Daniel smiled and nodded.

“This is going to be confusing isn’t it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hate me for the open ending, I promise I will keep you updated in my one-shot collection 'Few Years Later' :) Also! I have decided to write drabbles or ficlets on tumblr.com/marvelsquake (that I won't post on AO3) so make sure to follow me if you're interested!
> 
> Thank you guys so much for reading and please leave a comment if you enjoyed, I really do appreciate them! I'll make sure to answer all of them :) until next week!


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